An Empty Shell
by Laura-Grace
Summary: An new girl, Kali Zona, comes to Domino City, and there’s something strange about her, something… broken. A broken spirit, a broken heart, and a broken link, in fact. Her story is one of tears. *NOW COMPLETE*
1. The New Girl

An Empty Shell

_An new girl, Kali Zona, comes to Domino City, and there's something strange about her, something… broken. A broken spirit, a broken heart, and a broken link, in fact. Her story scares Yugi and Yami, and even rattles Bakura and Ryou. She forces the yamis and hikaris to reexamine their lives and ask themselves "Could I really survive if I was the only one?"_

A/N: I had this idea after reading Rain of Tears (it's on my faves list – check it out! It's MAJOR angst, though!). And just to let you know, Kali means "Dark goddess and full of energy" in Sanskrit. (Thank goodness for baby name books, eh?) And I have clue whatsoever what Bakura's last name is so I'm making it up! And Yami-Bakura is now Ryou. I know most people switch them around, making Ryou the hikari and Bakura the yami, but I keep thinking Ryou as the yami, so I'm not going to be confusing myself anymore!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything except Kali and Aseliah and the Silver Items and Bearers, unless of course, they already exist. In which case, I don't own them.

"speaking"

'thinking to themself'

*change of POV*

[Mental link]

**CHAPTER 1:: New Girl**

                "All right, class, back to your seats, please!" called Mrs. Freiman over the cheerful chatter of her 10th grade class. "I have a special announcement to make!"

                She looked around the room at the blissfully unaware students and added fiercely "And if you don't all sit down within ten seconds, I'm assigning five pages of geometry for tomorrow!"

                Joey Wheeler, Bakura and Ryou Hino and Yugi and Yami Moto quickly retrieved their Duel Monsters card decks and fled to their seats. Seto Kaiba, who hadn't even so much as looked up from his book since he'd entered the class, placed his book back down.

                "And if I see those blasted card decks out again in my class, I will confiscate them." She snapped. "That goes for everybody as of now."

                Seto snatched his card deck from his desk and dropped them in his bag. Joey discreetly slipped his deck into his jacket pocket and the golden box containing Yugi and Yami's decks disappeared into Yami's book bag. Bakura shoved his cards quickly into his binder, as did Ryou, though with some reluctance.

                "I don't even want them in my classroom," she continued. "Misters Kaiba, Wheeler, Moto and Hino, if you would kindly hand over your cards?"

                "Never!" Ryou snarled under his breath, but at a quick jab in the side from his 'brother', or hikari vessel Bakura, and a stern look from Yami, he placed his deck on Mrs. Freiman's desk sullenly, returned to his seat and proceeded to glare at the imperturbed teacher.

                "You can come retrieve them at the end of the day," Mrs. Freiman said calmly. "Now, as I was saying, I have a special announcement: we have a new student joining us!"

                "Oooo, I'm shaking with anticipation," Tristan Taylor muttered sarcastically.

                "Mister Taylor, if  you would kindly keep your commentary to yourself?" Mrs. Freiman ordered.

                The door opened just then, and the vice-principal walked in with a girl trailing behind him.

*Yami's POV*

                The minute she walked in the room, it was like the whole room was filled with negative power. It was stifling, it was powerful, it was…

                Cutting me off from my aibou! (A/N: TELL ME AIBOU MEANS 'PARTNER' IN THE BUSINESS-Y SENSE AND NOT THE HOMOSEXUAL SENSE!!) [Yugi!] I called over the mental link in panic.

                [What?] Yugi called back, confused. [Yami, what's going on? You sound like you're far away…] He too, sounded distant.

                [I don't know!] I called back, struggling to get past the barrier. I glanced briefly over at Yugi at the other end of the class, who looked as if he didn't feel the same power I was. Bakura, also looked fine, but Ryou (the cursed tomb-robber!), I could see from the corner of my eye, was definitely feeling the same forces I was. He looked pale and frightened, something unusual in the tomb-raider.

*Ryou's POV*

                I had never felt so close to crying before. Bakura and I had never been close, not like Yami and Yugi, and sure, I may have been a little overbearing (okay abusive), at times (all right, all the time), but we always had been a part of each other. And now, it felt as if we were being cut apart.

                I resisted the urge to cry out in blind hysteria to my hikari, but I could tell Yami was distressed, also. 'Weak, pathetic little pharaoh. Probably already crying to his hikari,' I reflected, ignoring my inward delirium.

                [Ryou?] came the nervous call of Bakura over the mental link. [What's going on?] He paused. [I caught some panic on the link,] he added as way of explanation.

*back to third-person POV*

                "This is Kali Zona," Mrs. Freiman announced to her inattentive class. "She's just transferred from Canada, so be nice. Kali, you can take a seat next to Ryou, right there."

                The girl, tall with light brown hair with purple streaks, had an interesting colour of eyes: lavender. She wore the uniform of Domino High, but she seemed out of place with it, as if she'd never worn a school uniform in her life. She was fiddling with a stray lock of hair with one hand and a small silver locket with the other. She gave Mrs. Freiman a small, sad smile before taking her place as directed.

                It wasn't as if Kali didn't notice Ryou trying hard not to show that he was shaking, oh no, she'd had plenty of experience in Canada of that reaction. Looking around at her classmates, she thought, 'Well, now I know who the spirits are in this classroom. It won't be long before their hikari counterparts start to feel my energy as well, and then everybody will know that I'm not normal.' Still clutching her silver locket tightly, she thought, 'Oh, Aseliah, I wish you were still here…'

                "Did you catch a good look at that new girl?" Joey demanded later. "Don't even try to deny it, Yami, I saw you ogling her. In Math _and in English."_

                Yami's mouth opened and closed in indignation several times, while Yugi snickered at the thought of his yami going gaga over a girl.

                "Oh, and you didn't sneak a few looks yourself?" Tristan asked Joey teasingly. "I seem to recall you stopping dead in your tracks in Gym when she walked past you to the girls' class."

                Even Ryou laughed at that one while Joey turned a vile shade of red.

                "She's quite smart," Bakura said quietly. "The French professor was just in shock at how well she spoke French."

                "That's because she was in a French Immersion school back in Canada," Téa spoke up. "I asked her."

                "French Immersion?" Tristan asked blankly.

                "Gosh, Tristan, even I know what that is!" Joey snorted. "It's a school where they teach most of their subjects in French, except for English. It's to help them 'immerse' themselves in the language."

                "Oh."

                "Is there a particular reason why you're talking about me?" came a soft voice from

behind Yami.

                "Wha-aah!" Yami yelped and whirled around to face Kali, who was watching the group with an almost amused expression on her face.

                "Am I a terribly interesting conversation subject?" She asked, with only a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"I…uh…I…uh…" Yami stammered.

"Ay aye ay." Joey groaned. Yugi was still trying hard not to laugh hysterically at the expression on his dark's face.

"What are you?" Ryou asked. Téa looked at him in shock.

"Ryou!" Bakura and Téa said disapprovingly.

Kali, however, waved off Ryou's slightly insulting remark. "Don't think I didn't get asked that in Canada. You're gold, aren't you?" She directed this question to both Ryou and Yami.

"Huh?" both boys asked blankly.

"Judging by your complete lack of knowledge as to what I'm talking about, I'm guessing that was a yes." Kali sighed. "You," she pointed to Ryou. "Your item."

"Item?" Ryou asked.

Kali groaned exasperatedly. "Your _Millennium Item! Geez, Louise…"_

"Oh," Ryou responded. "Bakura has it."

"You, I'm guessing, are Bakura." Kali directed her attention to Bakura, who was looking bewildered. "The Item."

Bakura looked at her suspiciously.

"I swear, I'm not going to do anything to it. I need to know which Item it is."

"The ring," all the group answered in unison.

"You can't have it," Bakura said immediately, closing a hand protectively around his ring.

Kali groaned. "I don't have time for this. Hopefully whoever has the Puzzle will be slightly more knowledgeable, since he's the one who was supposed to have locked all this idiotic power away." She turned to walk away, when Yami said from behind her, "That would be me."

Kali turned back around. "You?" she asked scornfully. 

"Yes," Yami responded, stepping forward.

Kali scoffed derisively and walked away from the group, pulling something out of her bag as she went. It glinted mysteriously in the sunlight.

Yami watched as she sat down under the shade of a distant tree, still wondering what this girl was, and why she didn't believe him.

"Uh, Yami?" Yugi asked slowly. "Yami? Earth to Y-a-a-mi, come in."

"What?" Yami asked, turning away from the faraway musings of his mind back to reality.

"Can we go now?" Tristan asked in exasperation. "Can we leave this girl to her depression? She gives me the major willies."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A/N: Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, what do you think? I won't know unless you review!****


	2. Arrival Of The Silver Bearers

An Empty Shell

**Review Comments**

**KaTyA: you know, I really like you. You write good stories and you actually review mine!!! Any way, I KNOW! There IS a problem picturing Yami nervous over a girl! Wasn't that convo amusing? I loved it! I'm actually speaking out loud. I'm talking to myself… well, I'm talking to the computer screen.**

**seashell: anything written by me can go good or can go bad. Get used to it. But someone's obviously eagerly anticipating the next chapter…**

**Trunks' Saiyajin Princess: you DO know that Kali is based on me, right? You DO know I, I, IIIIIIII go to a completely French Immersion school, right? Wow! You like me! *laughs conspicuously***

**Keiko: *see the first part of Trunks' Saiyajin Princess* Any way, I've never actually heard of a half-French Immersion. All the schools I've gone to (including the one I'm at now, it makes four), it was all completely French Immersion. Hey! Consider it a compliment that Yummy Yami is ogling a Canadian! It says something to his good judgment… hehehe. Go, Canada!**

**Crystal Rain: I KNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW THAT!!!!!!!!! I KNOW that Bakura is usually the evil one and Ryou the good one. I KNOOOOOOOOOW THAT! *see first A/N in Chapter 1* Somehow, it just never clicked in my mind the way most people put it. NOW STOP TELLING ME THAT! *exasperated sigh***

**JR: that's exactly why I put Yami stuttering… because it's just too funny! *falls off her chair laughing* Ow. I'm falling all over the place! I fell off my chair in French class, I fell off my chair in the school computer lab, I nearly fell down the stairs… I'll fall off my chair again before this chapter is over.******

**jenruki-gal4ever: you know, you sound kinda like me when I don't want to come right out and say its not a great story. Sometimes I'll put that just for the sake of saving an author's delicate ego. If you didn't like the story, either don't review or tell me so! I'm not quite THAT fragile. I survived my friend and fellow authoress _Midori, butt monkey princess's flames, I can survive ANYTHING!_**

A/N: *sigh* I'm pooped. But not so pooped that I can't write some more… Does Kali seem like a Mary Sue to you? I'm trying not make her one, because you know, they get just _slightly annoying… Die, Mary Sue, die!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

DISCLAIMER: I own only the following people and Silver Items: Aseliah Leighton, Kali Zona, the Millennium Glass, Awan Yahto, Son Yuma, the Millennium Sword, Caryn Handel, Reva Golegin, the Millennium Pendant, Paz Mariachi, Loella Mercedes, the Millennium Flute, William Turner, Blake Rider and the Millennium Lamp. (I was running out of ideas for Items by the time I reached William and Blake, which accounts for the Millennium Lamp) I don't know what the Items are in the series, so if somebody could kindly tell me what the others are besides the Puzzle, the Ring, the Eye and the Rod (? That's that dude Malik, right?) and the Item's bearer person. Bearer as in like Yugi is the Bearer of the Puzzle, Bakura/Ryou whatever you think of him as is the Bearer of the Ring, Pegasus with the Eye. Last names and families would be helpful. And does anybody know Bakura/Ryou's last name in the series, any way?

"speaking"

'thoughts'

*change of POV*

[mental link]

**CHAPTER 2 :: Arrival of the Silver Bearers**

                Kali stared at her Millennium Glass for a while until she heard the bell ring vaguely, and in the back corner of her mind, a little voice said "Time to go to class" but she shut that voice out.

                [Guys?] she called out tentatively, using the powers of her Millennium Glass to reach her fellow Silver Bearers.

                [Hey, Kali, what's wrong?] came the reply of Son Yuma, from the USA. [Some big bully try to beat you up again and get turned to stone and now you don't know how to unstone him?]

                Kali scoffed softly. [If only. I miss Canada already, and I've only been in Japan for less than two days.]

                [Hey, what's going on here?] came the voice of Loella Mercedes, in Spain, as she joined the conversation of the spirits in the spirit chamber. [Great timing, by the way, Kali. Right in the middle of an oral presentation.]

                [Yeah, technically I'm supposed to be in class, I guess.] Kali responded.

                [Think of it this way,] Reva Golegin spoke up, all the way in Denmark. [It can't be any colder there in Japan than in Winnipeg.] (A/N: Winnipeg is the capital of Manitoba, for those who don't know their Canadian Geo. It's got plenty of nicknames, such as "Winterpeg, Manisnowba" or "Windypeg, Maniblowba". You get the idea it's cold and windy in the wintertime. It's just torture year-round, really.)

                [That's true,] Kali admitted. [ I wish I could see you guys face to face again, though.]

                [I wonder where Blake is?] Loella wondered aloud.

                [Probably sleeping or stuffing his face,] Son said wisely. [You'd think the guy had never slept or seen food before in his lives.]

                [Blake has joined the throng!] came the cheerful cry of Blake Rider, in England. [Hey-a, Kali! Having fun in Japan?]

                [Not really.]

                [Why don't you go do something productive?] Reva said helpfully. [Do whatever it was that you and Aseliah were doing in Winnipeg.] Kali got the impression of Reva slapping a hand over her mouth. [Oh, gosh, Kali, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—]

                [Never mind, Reva.] Kali sighed. [I did get a volunteer job at a hospital here in Domino City. In the children's ward, I start on Saturday. Then I'm working at some big ole pizza place on other nights. I think it's Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday.]

                [Busy girl,] Son noted.

                [Gotta keep busy,] Kali muttered. [Otherwise…] The other spirits nodded understandingly.

                [Tell you what,] Blake suggested. [How about we all go out to Japan for Christmas break?]

                [Good idea!] Loella agreed enthusiastically.

                [D'you have any idea how hard it'll be to sneak a sword onboard a plane?] Son asked skeptically. [Besides, does everybody's hikari's parents have the money to send us all to Japan? Other than Paz, everybody knows her parents are loaded.]

                [Loaded pistols,] Loella muttered.

                Kali was aware of someone standing behind her and she said quickly, [I have to go, so I'll talk to you guys later, maybe?]

                [All right.]

                She exited the spirit chamber and turned around to face a scowling Yami. "Yes, Moto?" she asked aloofly.

                "The teacher sent me out to find you. You're now twenty minutes late for class."

                "Only twenty?" Kali muttered as she slipped her Glass back into her bag and stood up, ignoring Yami's outstretched hand. "I hoping to just skip the entire period."

                "No such luck," Yami told her. "Mr. Yukio doesn't take late students to his Geo classes very well."

                "Yuck." Kali muttered. "I hate Geography. I'm a History person."

                They reached the class without any more said and as the two entered the classroom, Yami returned to his seat in the back of the class and Kali took the last seat,  coincidentally right next to the window. 'Yes!' she thought happily. 'Somewhere to divert my attention while this teacher is droning on and on and on and on…'

                "Miss Zona?" came the crisp voice of the Geo teacher, Mr. Yukio. "I hope you don't intend to make it a habit of yours to come to class twenty minutes late?"

                "No, sir," Kali answered innocently. "I plan to come fifty minutes late. Just long enough for me to pass the class."

                "Not this classroom, Miss Zona."

                Kali was extremely glad when the last bell of the day rang and she was one of the first out the door. Shoving her unneeded books into her locker and stuffing her binder in her backpack, she slammed the door shut, locked it and was confronted by Yugi and entourage. "What do you want?" she asked nastily. "And make it snappy, I have a practice to get to."

                "Oh, all right," Yugi answered, unfazed by her obvious unfriendly attitude. "I was just wondering if you wanted to walk home with us. I noticed you came from that direction this morning."

                Momentarily touched by this reach of friendship, Kali risked eye contact with Yugi, then with one glance at his eyes, just a few shades darker than hers, and Aseliah's, own lavender eyes, split.

*Yugi's POV*

                I was jolted momentarily by a scary sensation of… nothing. It wasn't that I didn't feel something, it was just that feeling was an overwhelming nothingness. It's hard to explain. 

"Ah!" I cried out and then nearly collapsed if not for Yami and Joey grabbing my arms at the last moment.

"Yugi!" everyone exclaimed.

"What happened?" Joey demanded, gripping my arm with a shaking hand.

"I… I'm not quite sure," I whispered. "She looked at me, right at me and then…"

Joey released me, only to be stopped by Tristan from running after Kali. "That little…" then called her a few choice words that shouldn't be repeated. (A/N: in case there are innocent-minded overprotected children reading this fic! Such as me… hehehe. Or in case there are parents reading over shoulders, for some odd reason.) "You want me to go deck her for you?" (A/N: aw man, now this sounds like The Parent Trap!)

"No, Joey, I'm fine." I said softly, standing up with Yami still in possession of my arm, with a death grip on it.

Joey growled a few more incoherent words until his breath, but turned his back on the hallway and grabbed his bag. "C'mon, let's go."

*Kali's POV*

                I have got to get a hold of myself. I've only been in this school for a day, and I've already started to affect the hikaris. Granted, I have to make eye contact with them, but still… it took almost two weeks in Canada to get that far gone.

                I entered the music room, and took the music folder out of my bag. Normally, I would have to be in Band to take Jazz, but they told me I could be an exception. Sitting down at the keyboard, I brushed a hand lightly over the bright keys, feelings that still reminded me of Aseliah washing over me…

_                "Hey, Kali, hurry up!" Aseliah called over the brutal screaming wind. "We're going to be late for piano!"_

_                "Not while I'm here!" I called back, running to catch up. "Hey, can't you take the bag for a while?"_

_                "Nope!" Aseliah laughed. "Mom said to stop carrying those heavy bags, remember?"_

_                "This isn't heavy!" I exclaimed. "Heavy is taking both of our school bags home when the teachers from EVERY subject gave us homework!"_

_                "Right, Kali." Aseliah joked. "Your life is so difficult."_

_                "Of course it is!"_

                "Can we warm up with a B$+ scale?" called the Jazz instructor, Ms. Janizon. (A/N: the musical scale written is B flat major. It's sort of jazz scale. We used the flat major [B flat, A flat, E flat] scales a lot in Jazz Band last year. I can't go this year because I have to be in Band and I REFUSE to play French Horn just so I can play piano in Jazz. _ And now my friends tell me I could've played piano in Band. Grr…*steaming mad*)

                'Okay, Kali, just keep a hold of yourself,' I thought to myself, as my fingers went up and down the scale in automatic jazz tempo. 'You can do this. Because after all, you have no idea how long you have left. Gosh, I hope not long…'

~~A week or so later~~ 

*Third-person POV*

                Kali stepped off the bus in front of the doors to the airport, wondering how her friends, her nearest friends left to her now, would react when they finally met her without the protective shield of the spirit chamber.

                She paced uneasily in the waiting area for the flight from Denmark, where Blake and his hikari William Turner, and Reva and her hikari Caryn Handel would be arriving shortly. Blake and William had come from a connecting flight from England to Denmark and now from Denmark to Japan.

                "Flight 196 from Copenhagen has now arrived at Gate A17," came the bored voice of the intercom person. "I repeat Flight 196 from Copenhagen has now arrived at Gate A17. Gosh, I hate my job…"

                Kali, rather than shove her way through the crowds, slunk towards the back, and waited for Blake and Reva to contact her.

                [Hey, Kali, where are you?] asked Blake. [I can't see you.]

                [That's because I'm hidden in the back.] Kali answered.

                [Ah! Gosh girl you've gone downhill!] Reva yelped as the wave of negative power hit her. [How can you stand this?]

                [Really?] Kali asked dryly. [I hadn't noticed. Don't come too close, though. I made a guy at school faint a few days ago.]

                She remembered _that quite clearly…_

_                "I have a small project for you!" said the English teacher Mrs. Kjornas cheerily. "You'll go into groups of three, which I will assign, and your task is to recount as many plays of Shakespeare as you can, and give a brief summary of two of them."_

_                Kali zoned out; this was fairly easy stuff, until she heard "Yami Moto, Bakura Hino, and Kali Zona."_

_                'No!' she groaned inwardly. 'Not the spirit dude, and the other hikari. I can't go too close to them.'_

_                Grudgingly, Yami and Bakura pulled over desks to where Kali was sitting; she could already see the unease in the spirit's face, and the pallor of the hikari. Praying for a lapse in energy, just for once, she said softly "So?"_

_                "So what?" Yami asked. "What I want to know is what you did to Yugi that day."_

_                "I__ didn't do anything," Kali retorted. "It's just… something I can't help."_

_                "And why don't you look anybody in the eyes?" Bakura demanded, budging in closer._

_                'Don't come any closer,' Kali mentally tried to send him, but failed; without her Glass there, she couldn't communicate mind-to-mind with anybody._

_                Yami, in a quiet voice that commanded in tones as well as words, said quietly "Kali, look at me. Look right in my eyes."_

_                "I… I can't," she answered just as quietly._

_                "Yes you can," Yami said not too kindly; he was running out of patience. "Lift your head up and look me straight in the eyes."_

_                "No…" she tried again, but Yami, run out of patience, took her gently by the chin and lifted her head to look him in the eyes. (A/N: OMIGOSH! This sounds SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO romantic! I can't stand it! The romance, the romance!!!! Ahhhh!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!! *falls off her chair laughing* Ow. I have a tendency to laugh at romantic scenes. Aren't I mature! I tend to laugh at really bad attempts at sad scenes, too. Aren't I really mature!)___

_                His hand dropped like a rock and he tumbled out of his chair, unconscious._

_                "What did you do?" Bakura demanded angrily, kneeling next to Yami as Joey came over. "What did you do to him?"_

_                Joey, who had knelt down and checked Yami's weak pulse, stood up again, fire burning in his eyes. "I don't know who or what you are, but you can't be good. No decent person would deliberately hurt somebody without a purpose."_

_                Kali, about to reply something along the lines of him not being worth a speck of dirt under a mortal's foot, decided against it and just fled to her apartment, where she spent the afternoon in agonized pain, both physical and emotional._

                Blake, William, Reva and Caryn all grabbed their duffels and waited for the next flight to come in, which carried the other Silver Bearers.

                A few hours later, the flight from Madrid, Spain arrived, carrying Loella and her hikari Paz Mariachi, and Son and his hikari Awan Yahto from the USA.

                [Don't go too close,] Blake advised them as they came towards the group. [Believe me, it hurts.]

                [How did you manage to faint a guy, anyhow Kali?] Reva asked curiously.

                [Yeah,] Blake agreed.

                [You fainted a guy?] Son and Loella asked in interest. [Do tell. You can't be affecting the mortals yet.]

                [Nope,] Kali said. [But I'm getting pretty close. I nearly fainted a hikari.]

                [Ai! Kali, don't talk so much. You hurt.] Son asked. [Hikari? As in there are other yamis here?]

                [Uhh…] Kali stopped. [Didn't I tell you?]

                [What, that there are other yamis? In Domino City?] Blake demanded. [No, I don't believe you did.]

                [Tell me they aren't gold.] Loella said pleadingly. [Tell me they're some other form of yami, and not the Golden Egyptians.]

                [Umm…] Kali faltered.

                [KALI!] the other yamis exclaimed.

                [They separated the Silvers and Golds for a reason, you know!] Reva yelled. [And you've dragged us ALL back here?! Kali, you idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

                [Shut up, Reva!] Son yelled. [I'm sure Kali just forgot. She's got a lot more on her mind than you do, you know.]

*Son's POV*

                I couldn't believe the nerve of Reva. She had always been a bit of an intolerable brat, but that was WAY out of line!

                [Uh, Son?] came the tentative voice of Awan over the link. [What's going on?]

                [Nothing, nothing.] I answered irritably.

                [What's going on?] Awan asked again.

                [Nothing!]

                [What's going on?]

                [Fine! Kali forgot about why the Golds and Silvers were separated in the first place and now she's gotten us all back in the same city, pretty much.]

                [Oh, dear God.] Awan groaned. [She never did have much sense, did she?]

                [Not really,] I admitted. Awan and I had always been closer to Aseliah and Kali than the others, mostly because we lived so close together. The girls had lived in Winnipeg and we live in Grand Forks, so every once in a while we would meet up with each other. Not since Aseliah's death, though. We all knew what was coming…

A/N: REVIEEEEEEEEWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	3. Reva Confronts Bakura And Hence Thickens...

An Empty Shell

**Review Comments**

**seashell: aww… poor girl. It's all right. My brain hurts and I'm confused and ****_I'M the one who wrote it! Actually, since I was in French Immersion since kindergarten (so my whole school life), it doesn't seem that hard to me. The only bad thing is that my parents don't speak very good French, so I have to translate if I need help with homework._**

**Trunks' Saiyajin Princess: thanx for the info. Now for any new YGO stories I write, I know the name. And I ****_WILL write the hikari as Ryou this time around. I dunno, nobody seems to know much about Shadi. I was running around the Internet looking for information on Malik and nary a speck of info did I see on Shadi and some vague confusing info for Malik _. But now I have a cheat sheet for the Millennium Items, and thanx again for Malik and Isis' info._**

A/N: I must get some sort of protection against writer's block… anybody got any good ideas? Since nobody seems to know ANYTHING about Shadi other than he possesses the Ankh and Scale, I get to go nuts! Whoo-hoo! The one bad thing about my cheat sheet is they put Pegasus' full name as Pegasus J. Crawford and THAT IS WRONG! It's Maximillion Pegasus. Hmph. My cheat sheet tells me the owner, the abilities, the spirit (if it has one), and a brief summary of the ability and how it wound up with the owner. Whee! Whoa, hold on! The ability for the Millennium Tauk is "can show the near future, although a wielder of another Millennium Item may alter that future" but the summary says that KAIBA altered the future. Kaiba doesn't have a Millennium Item! What's going on here? *wanders off in confusion* And I have now changed Bakura and Ryou around. The hikari is now Ryou and the yami is now Bakura, although the last name is still Hino, because Bakura Bakura just sounds weird. Thanx be to EVERYBODY for pointing that out. Sorry about the semi-flame, Crystal Rain.

DISCLAIMER: I own nobody but those mentioned in the disclaimer for Ch. 2!

**CHAPTER 3:: Reva Confronts Bakura And Hence Thickens The Plot**

                The next day, Domino High got a cultural shock as eight visitors showed up for classes. Some people were just suspicious because they came for the last day of classes, others were more suspicious because they all had different family names, but looked like another one.

                At lunch later that day, Kali was in a pretty good mood. Her negative energy had lapsed for once, so she could spend time with her fellow Silver spirits without causing them harm. She had passed her Geo quiz even though she didn't study, and she had Jazz Band after school. Life was good.

                For today, at least.

                "Somebody's happy," Son teased as the two friends grabbed a table. Awan was still waiting in line, and Kali could see Son trying hard not to keep looking over his shoulder at his hikari.

                "What's not to be happy about today?" Kali sighed. "The sun is shining, it's not 40 below, I have Jazz after school and my negative energy is gone for today. Why shouldn't I be happy?"

                "Because here comes Reva," Blake offered, joining them. "Looking awfully mad, might I add."

                "This is _all your fault," Reva hissed at Kali as she threw herself down in a chair._

                "What happened?" Kali asked sweetly.

                "PE. Second block. White-haired kid. Two of them." Reva groused as she poked her dinner with a fork.

                "Oh, so you spotted Ryou and Bakura." Kali said nonchalantly. "Don't tell me Bakura tried to go beat up the gym teacher or something again."

                "No, he tried to kill ME!" Reva growled. "Meeeeeeeee!"

                "And?" Kali prompted.

                "Thankfully, Caryn had enough sense to transport us to before class started and I threatened to put his hikari in the electric chair and then decapitate the hikari if he tried any funny stuff."

                "Oh, you're in for it." Kali groaned. She shivered. "Bakura's got a horrible temper. He was a tomb-raider in the Ancient. Trust me on this one, don't make him mad."

                As fast as it takes for a fly to beat its wings, Kali received a vision from the Glass. (A/N: aw man! Now the Glass is pretty much the Eye and the Tauk put together! This is what I get for creating new items without knowing what the others were or what they did!)

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A/N: keep reviewing, my favourite readers! Thanx to the following people who have reviewed:

*seashell

*Trunks' Saiyajin Princess

*KaTyA

*JR

*Keiko

*Crystal Rain

*jenruki-gal4ever

You guys keep this story up! Keep it up, most beloved reader-peeps!


	4. Ryou and William Meet Again

An Empty Shell

** Review Comments**

**KaTyA: it's all right if you forget to review a chapter. Long updates because my parents locked me computer down until I bring my French mark up from a 66%…L  Got to finish typing on their computer upstairs when they're not home or at school… L  You're right though. I have a policy of 'if they review more than once signed in, then I go check out one or two of their stories.' (If you'll notice, I've put you on my favourites list! I do that if there's more than one story of theirs I like. It lets me have lots of authors' stories rather than having ten of them from this person, five from this person, seven from this person, because then it starts to add up…) Aw, don't be so mean to poor Yami.**

**Trinity Girls: Aw, you're sweet.**

**Amber (sailorearth67): thanx. You're sweet too.**

**Keiko: yup. I was all alone… _(Laura-Grace: Kali, it's not time for you to come in yet, go away.) (Kali: You tell ME, the main character of this story, to go away?! How dare you? After all, I'm going to MRRPHF! *_****gets mouth covered by Laura-Grace*) (Laura-Grace: KALI! Don't give away the ending!!!) (Kali: sorry.) Kali herself thought up Reva's threat, since after, SHE's supposed to be the yami-writer here. I thought it was a nice maniacal touch. And obviously, I AM writing more.**

**seashell: aw, why hasn't anybody thanked you before? You're such a big help… I checked out the sites at school. I didn't find the yugioh-dungeons very helpful, but I'm sure that the ryoubakura would've been helpful if the stupid computer would've let me into it… GRR! *begins to bang on computer* Maybe not, I don't think the school would like it if I broke one of their computers…**

**Crystal Rain: *running around the room in a blind panic* NO! I'M SORRY! I BELIEVE I WAS PMS-ING THAT DAY! Why'd ya have to take it off?! I really liked that story!!!!! Wah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Mystic Kiwi: you think the plot is interesting _now… wait until you see what's coming up in Chapter 5! Mwahahaha… I'm sooooooo evil… it's all Celina's influence._**

****

A/N: don't you hate it when you have a bazillion ideas running around your head and you have **_NO CLUE HOW TO WORK THEM INTO THE PLOT??! That's the case with me. It's not Writer's Block, it's Writer's Overload! Yeesh. And as I told KaTyA, long updates because my parents locked my computer until I bring my French mark up… two loooooooooooooong weeks to do so. And trust me it's really locked. I tried to turn it on but I couldn't. WHO THE HECK IS MIHO?! Again, I would've checked on ryoubakura.com for her little info thing, but the stupid filtering system wouldn't let me in for some reason… *later* Okay, checked the site at home and Miho is a person of no importance whatsoever to the YGO plot, just some crush or girlfriend of Tristan/Honda. And who wants me to kill Téa in the end?? I do, I do! Yami-Malik is Marik as is in most of the YGO fics I've read._**

DISCLAIMER: I own only people who aren't in the actual series. (Duh.)

**CHAPTER 4:: Ryou And William Meet Again**

                "Ah, I'm not worried over _that  imbecile," Reva said unconcernedly. "What I __am worried about is where the heck this lunch came from."_

                "You should be worried," came a soft voice from behind her. Reva whirled around to find Téa standing behind her. "Bakura's really dangerous when he's mad. And I'd say he's pretty mad. Look over there." Téa tilted her head over towards the table where Ryou, Yugi, Tristan, Joey, and Yami were busy talking fast to Bakura, who was looking rather murderous. Bakura made a motion as if he were going to stand up, but Ryou's hand shot out and pulled him back down to his seat. Surprisingly enough Bakura listened to Ryou for once.

                Reva snorted derisively. "Him? He's nothing. He's not worth my attention any more than the dirt under a mortal's sandal."

                "Funny, Bakura says that whenever he's irritated." Téa mused. "Yami says it much less often, but I've heard him say it every once in a while… Must be an Egyptian thing." She wandered off; completely oblivious to the strange stares she was getting from the Silver Bearers.

                "She _does realize we're not __from Egypt in this time period, right?" Loella asked Kali. "And why does she know about the Egyptians, anyway? Those guys don't look like they're from Egypt. Actually, that one guy looks like Pharaoh." She motioned towards Yami, who was discussing something with Yugi. "And the other guy…"_

                "Ryou Hino!" Blake said suddenly.

                "Huh?" the others asked blankly, turning to stare at him.

                "Oh, an old classmate of William's. They used to be friends, I guess, before I showed up on the scene," Blake mused. "After all, William released me from the Lamp when we were 12." (A/N: aw geez, now he sounds like a Genie!)

                "Ah," Son muttered. "So haven't William and Ryou recognized each other yet?"

                "They hadn't exactly run into each other yet," Blake admitted. "I'm kinda looking forward to when they do. It should be interesting…"

                "Run _into each other, eh?" Kali said thoughtfully, a slightly insane grin spreading across her face…_

                "Don't even _think about it," Son told her sternly._

*Ryou's POV*

                I had been having the funniest feeling all morning. Like there was something I was supposed to do and I'd forgotten. But at the moment, I decided I was going to forget about it and ponder other things.

                Like how sometimes it's good to have your yami, a homicidal ex-con, pose as your older brother. Bakura had already thwarted two bullies off me this morning. Of course, he got sent to the office for fighting right after, but hey, I was still in one piece.

                In the midst of cell phones ringing all over the cafeteria, I hadn't noticed my own cell ringing until Bakura jabbed me none too gently, because I don't think Bakura's capable of gentleness, and said pointedly "Your phone?"

                "Oh. Phone. Right." I muttered, digging it out of my bag. "Hello?"

                "Baku—no, Ryou, right?"

                "Oh, hey, Malik."

                "Marik."

                "Whatever. What do you want?"

                "I want you to hand the phone over to Bakura._ Now!"_

                "_Fine. Don't need to get so nasty." I passed the phone to Bakura and said "It's Marik. He seems upset."_

                "You called him Malik." Yami said. "Isn't that reason enough? He and Malik are the only ones who ever get themselves mixed up with the other over the phone."

"Yeah that's because people can actually _see and__ hear the different between the rest of us." I pointed out._

"Yeah." Yugi added. "In our case, a couple feet."

"If they didn't _sound the same, I wouldn't keep mixing them up."__ (A/N: if they actually sound different from each other, sorry about that. Malik hasn't appeared in the series yet in Canada. Grr! Hurry up, YTV! Aw, man, they started the WHOLE show over again! Well, actually, now I can see the episodes I haven't seen. I had the misfortune of starting to watch about halfway through the series. Not a smart move.)_

As Bakura argued with Marik over something or other, I soon found myself watching the sea of students move around, and as my eyes slid over a group of unfamiliar students, I snapped my attention back to them. "Hey that's—" I started to say, but then stopped because I knew it couldn't be him.

"That's who?" Joey asked. "Or what?"

"No way," I muttered.

"No way _what?" Tristan asked in exasperation.  
                "That can't be him."_

"Who can't be him?!" Téa finally burst out.

"See that brown-haired kid down there?" I pointed him out, discreetly, because if there's one thing I've learnt, it's never, EVER point fingers in a cafeteria. "With the green eyes?"

"Oh, him." Téa dismissed him with a unimpressed wave of her hand. "That's William Turner. Saw him in my World History class. Big fat know-it-all."

"Hey, Téa, just because _you don't pay attention in class doesn't mean nobody else does," Tristan told her._

"William Turner?" I asked, feeling a sinking feeling in my chest.

"Yeah. Some English kid here on a brief exchange." Téa grumbled, glaring at Tristan.

"I knew him," I muttered. "Used to go to school together in England."

*William's POV*

                "So Kali really looks far gone, doesn't she?" Paz whispered.

                "Definitely," Awan agreed. "She can't have long left." His brow furrowed in worry at the thought.

                Since we had been the last ones in line at the cafeteria, we had to grab a small table in the clear opposite end of the room, and all four of us were starting to show the strain of the separation from our yamis.

                I turned around to glance again at Blake, just to make sure he wasn't causing trouble, of course, and my gaze was distracted by a boy at a table not far from Blake – someone I thought I'd never see again.

                "Ryou!" I exclaimed, ignoring the confused glances the others were giving me. "No way!"

                Ryou caught my gaze just then and gave a small wave in my direction. I got up and walked over to his table, noting the older boy who looked like him. Was he what I thought he was?

                "Hi, Ryou," I said, all pretense gone. "Long time no see."

                "No kidding," Ryou answered softly.

                "Who is this?" asked a few of the kids also at the table, not including the girl from World History and the Ryou-look-alike.

                "I _told you, William Turner." The girl snapped irritably.  
                "No need to get nasty," came a call from the yamis' table. "What'd he do to you?"_

                "Blake…" I turned around and glared at Blake, who looked back at me innocently. 

"_What?" Blake asked. "Just defending you!"_

"I can defend my own self, thank you very much," I told him and turned back around.

"Some gratitude _I get," Blake muttered, then turned back to his conversation with Loella. "So he said __what?!…"_

"Don't mind him." I said under my breath to Ryou. "He's a moron, pure and simple."

Ryou and I looked at each other, then a split-second later, at the same moment, said in unison  "You don't have a brother!"

"Uh-oh…" the older tri-coloured hair boy muttered.

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A/N: YES! Finally! Done! Another fanfic idea running through my head. Gotta get it started before I lose it… (the idea, not my sanity; that's already been lost.) Don't forget to review! And sorry again for the long wait. Hopefully, if I passed my French verb test, my dad will unlock my computer… hey, lock-down ends tomorrow! Whoo-hoo!


	5. The Hidden Secrets of Kalinda Zona Which...

An Empty Shell

**Review Comments**

**seashell: thanx again. You're really a very big help and just for that… I'm going to upload the next chapter! Well, I was going to any way, but you've just made it quicker.**

**Jenny-fer _(or was it The Amazing Dancing Jenny-fer?)_****: Okay, all I have to say, Jen, is you're very, very weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeird! ^_~ You're _odd! (Gasp.)_**

A/N: sorry about the long wait for chapter 4 again. Yay! Christmas, Christmas, 20 more days till Christmas! *bouncing up and down excitedly*

DISCLAIMER: I own only those whom you don't recognize from the series. The poem in italics is a poem whose title I forget and whose author I forget. I don't own it anyway.

Don't forget!

"speaking"

'thoughts'

[mental link]

**CHAPTER 5: The Hidden Secrets Of Kalinda Zona**

_If you come softly_

_As the wind within the trees_

_You may hear what I hear_

_See what sorrow sees_

_If you come as lightly_

_As threading dew_

_I will take you gladly_

_Nor ask more of you_

                "So what's going on here?" Tristan asked. "So you and you already know each other?"

                "Wow, you're quick." Blake noted sarcastically.

                Ryou and William were _still busy goggling at each other._

                "Can we come back to reality?" Bakura asked. "Hey, hey. Ryou. _Ryou…"_

                "Forget it." Blake advised. "If he's anything like William, you can't get him back to reality unless you—" Both yamis got insane evil grins on their faces.

                "Don't. Even. Think. About. It." William snapped.

                "Nuts." Blake muttered. Bakura looked equally disappointed at the missed chance to startle his hikari.

                "Oh, Blake, you know Ryou?" Kali asked, looking up abruptly.

                "Oh, she's back from her own world," Son teased gently, poking her playfully in the side. "What was that all about?"

                "Shut up, Son." Kali growled. "I am sooo not in the mood for you."

                "Oh that cut. That cut really deep," Son returned tactlessly.

                "Sure it did."

                "Of course it did."

                "You're too sensitive."

                "You're not sensitive enough."

                "Listen, if _you were me, would __you be sensitive?"_

                "Don't even try self-pity on me, Kali Zona. It doesn't become you."

                "Who said I was pitying myself, Son Yuma? It's the facts of life. Or the lack thereof."

                "You're being pathetic, Kali."

                Kali ran a hand through her hair and groaned. "What are we arguing over?"

                "I have no clue." Son admitted. The other Silver Bearers shook their heads and rolled their eyes. This sort of argument was usual between the two. It was like they'd been friends in a past life…

                Which, actually, they probably had.

                After school had ended, Ryou and William were talking about going somewhere to talk. Neither of their yamis wanted to leave them alone with the other, so they went. Neither of the yamis wanted it to be only the four of them, so their assorted friends wound up tagging along.

                "Oooooo, you're so annoying sometimes." William snapped.

                "Listen, _you want to go through the whole stretch thing? Me, I'm not too keen on it, so shut up." Blake snarled._

                "If I had known you were going to be this overbearing, I would've never released you from the Lamp. I'm not joking."

                "Like I would've _chosen to be yami to __you if I had a choice. You're so irresponsible."_

                "Oh, _I'm irresponsible?! Look who's talking!"_

                "You are!"

                "Gah! I see why whoever created the Millennium Items locked _you away! You must've seriously ticked him off!"_

                "For your information, I didn't _choose to be locked away. I would've just gone and died with the rest of Egypt if I had the choice. And I didn't know the guy. How could I have ticked him off?"_

                "I don't know, but you do a pretty good job of it any how!"

                "Shut up!" Kali finally burst out. "Just shut up, the both of you!"

                William and Blake lapsed into startled silence: even as the yami with perhaps the darkest past, Kali NEVER lost her temper. It was one of the things that scared most people; even Aseliah had thrown some pretty memorable fits in her day. Kali was the calm one.

                The other Silvers were watching Kali with fear and surprise written in big block letters on their faces. The Golds were just confused. And slightly scared: her temper looked as though it could rival Marik's.

                Kali reddened slightly. "Why do you do this to each other?" she asked finally. "You know neither of you means any of what you're saying. So why are you saying it? All it's going to do is tear you both apart, and _that hurts more than any stretch will ever hurt."_

                "Me, I want to know what's going on." Téa asked finally.

                "No, you don't." Caryn told her. "Trust me, you don't."

                "It's just confusing," Paz added.

                "Not like it wasn't confusing before," Awan muttered.

                "But it's even more confusing now." William finished.

                "Oh, and _that wasn't confusing __at all," Yami grumbled._

                "Shut up, you." Son snapped.

                "Hold your temper." Yami returned.

                "Why should I?" Son growled. "I don't have to listen to you."

                "Say what?" Joey cut in abruptly. "This gets more confusing with every word said."

                "But then again, you're not exactly a genius," Tristan told him.

                "Shut up!" Joey mumbled. "'snot my fault they don't teach us good."

                "You don't listen," Yugi told him, smiling.

"And your point is?"

"I want to know what's going on," Téa asked again. "And don't tell me I don't need to know, or that I won't understand."

"You won't," Kali told her. "I don't even understand half of this."

"Yes you do," Son told her. "You understand all of it. You're the one who explained it to us, Kalinda Zona."

"Would you stop calling me that?" Kali exclaimed. "You _know I hate being called Kalinda!"_

"You _do know," Son muttered rebelliously, but obediently shut up, glaring at her. "And what happened to—" he touched the side of his face._

"They don't need to know," Kali told him delicately.

"Admit it," Son told her. "You're scared."

"Scared to admit what?" Ryou asked.

"That I'm dying," Kali shrugged. "And there's nothing anybody can do to stop it."

After this enormous pronouncement, and a weird awkward silence filled the air, Kali said with fake  cheerfulness "Oh, gee, look at the time. I really must be going." With that, she whirled around and left the school courtyard, just as the heavy black clouds that had been hanging over the city all day let loose a torrent of rain.

*Kali's POV*

                I walked rapidly along the quickly deserted sidewalk. I touched the side of my face and looked at my hand. Wet streaks of make-up had come off onto my fingertips, exposing the long scar the make-up had been hiding.

                The rain continued to pour, erasing all traces of make-up, mingling with my tears. 

                "A week, Kali," I whispered. "You have a week left to live, Kalinda Nokomis. What are you going to do about _him?" (A/N: okay, that just totally contradicts itself. The name, I mean. Kalinda means 'the sun' in Sanskrit and Nokomis means 'daughter of the moon' in Native American.)_

*Son's POV*

                Somehow I had the idea something was going on with Kali that she wasn't telling me. I was sure it wasn't just about the whole 'calling-her-Kalinda' thing; all she does is beat me up for calling her that, she never walks away if she can fight. I had the idea the attitude may have come from her past in the Ancient. Her whole life being lived unable to fight, she takes it when she can.

                I had noticed the two Golden Item holders earlier. But I hadn't noticed _which items they were._

                The albinos had the Ring. I recognized the older one from somewhere vaguely, considered the possibility of it being him, and decided he didn't carry himself like a pharaoh. The Puzzle was held by…

                _The Puzzle. _

The Puzzle. Kali's cold nature towards Yami Moto. The way he carried himself, his commanding nature, everything about him screamed PHARAOH. It all fit… even his name…

                Yami.

                "Oh my,"

                "What?" Reva asked immediately.

                "It's him." I said simply.

*Third-person POV*

                "_Him?" Blake scoffed, looking at Yugi. _

"Look at him. He's a wuss!" Reva snorted.

"Excuse me?" Joey and Yami said at the same time.

                "There's no way _he can be the one." Loella agreed._

                "Not him," Son said tiredly. "_Him."_

                "Me?" Yami asked blankly.

                "Ooooooooooooh… _him." Loella said. "That makes more sense… Hold on! Him?! __He's the one?"_

                "Yep," Son said. Paz and Caryn shuddered and backed away.

*Bakura's POV*

                I had to give the pharaoh points for acting: he certainly looked confused. Not to mention his little hikari. But they had _just figured out this guy was Pharaoh __now?_

*Kali's POV*

                "Hi, Sanya," I greeted the secretary at Volunteer Services as I entered the office to sign in.

                "Hey, Kali," she answered. "Omigosh, what happened to your face?" She touched the side of her face to indicate what she meant.

                "I ran out of make-up." I grumbled.

                "But how did you get that?" Sanya persisted.

                I paused only a moment before I answered "I had great misfortune in my youth." 'To put it mildly,' I thought to myself as she turned back to her computer screen.

                I was in Children's Emergency today and it was fairly quiet, as Emergency rooms go on a Friday evening.

                "Oh, yay!" a nearby nurse exclaimed. "A volunteer! We're saved!" (A/N: I'm not joking. I'm a volunteer in a hospital and the nurses are forever saying "Hurray! A volunteer!")

                "Yes," I answered. "Madam Galahad to the rescue. What do you need me to do?"

                "Well, we have no immediate emergencies, but you can take these charts, go into the waiting room and extract information from the people in there." The nurse, a woman called Dahlia, said and put a pile of charts into my hands.

                "All right." I shrugged, and entered the buzzing waiting room. I zeroed in on the first person I saw, a woman in her mid-thirties, and squatted down to ask her "I'm here to get some information from you. Who was brought in?"

                "My son," she answered tearfully. "Kyle Isadore. He's only 8, he went out with his friends to a soccer practice after school and he, he, he…" she sniffled. "He broke his ankle. When are the doctors going to come and set it?"

                I looked next to her, and there was a small boy, not looking too injured but rather, gaping at my scar. "You would be Kyle, right?"

                "Yep," he answered cheerfully. "I was playin' soccer, like Ma said and then I slipped on Tommy's poncho, 'cause he never puts his stuff out of the way an' it was rainin' an' all, and then next I know, I hear this biiiiiiiiiiig crack, and my foot's lookin' funny. It was _fun. What happened to your face?"_

                "Kyle!" his mother reprimanded.

                "Oh, I don't mind," I answered. "Let's just say I wasn't a very lucky kid."

*Third-person POV*

                The next day, Kali woke up feeling like $*(%. Her negative energy was back.

                [Bleh.] she groaned. [Anybody there?]

                [What is it, Kali dearest?]

                [Do _not call me that, Blake. I feel like dollar sign, asterisk, bracket, percentage sign.]_

                [Huh?]

                [I don't feel good. My negative energy is back.]

                [Bleh.]

                [That's what I said. I don't think I should go to the swim meet today.]

                [_Miss a swim meet?!] Son gasped, as he entered the spirit chamber. [You __must be feeling sick. Or is it just because the back of your suit is clear?]_

                [What would that have to do with anything?] Loella mumbled, sounding as if she'd just woken up. [Why are you all making such a racket in my head first thing on a _Saturday?]_

                [It would make a difference because Kali was a slave girl in the Ancient.] Son answered.

                [Why would that make any difference?] Reva asked, waking to the conversation.

                [You wouldn't know, you overprotected rich kids,] Kali muttered. [We slaves didn't have that kind of protection.]

                [Neither did us lower-class families.] Son agreed.

                [You were still more protected than us,] Kali argued.

                [Yeah, by one small detail.] Son grumbled.

                [What would that be?] Blake asked in interest.

                [He was Egyptian.] Kali answered simply.

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A/N: yay! Chapter 5 is done! Finally!!! ReViEw!!!!!


	6. Prepare For A Trip To Ancient Egypt

An Empty Shell

**NOTE FOR SEASHELL AND/OR SEA CUCUMBER AND ANYBODY ELSE WHO IS CONFUSED ON THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS:**

**seashell/sea cucumber's little cheat sheet-type thing**

**The Yamis**

**KALI ZONA – Foreign slave in the Ancient.**

**SON YUMA – Lower-class Egyptian in the Ancient**

**BLAKE RIDER – Middle-class Egyptian in the Ancient**

**REVA GOLEGIN – Upper-class Egyptian in the Ancient**

**LOELLA MERCEDES – Upper-class Egyptian in the Ancient**

**The Hikaris (in same order with their yamis)**

**ASELIAH LEIGHTON – Canadian, dead**

**AWAN YAHTO – American**

**WILLIAM TURNER – English**

**CARYN HANDEL – Danish**

**PAZ MARIACHI – Spanish**

**The Items**

**SILVER GLASS – allows mind-to-mind communication with anybody, sees through all mind tricks/illusions, foretells the far future (Aseliah/Kali)**

**SILVER SWORD – gives great strength and endurance (Awan/Son)**

**SILVER LAMP (light lamp, not genie lamp) – emits highly-concentrated beams of heat and light, can cause death if fired at person (William/Blake)**

**SILVER PENDANT – can transport any amount of people to any time and any place if it existed (Caryn/Reva)**

**SILVER FLUTE – creates illusions, holograms, hypnotize (Paz/Loella)**

Sorry about the wait. We had chappie six ready to upload before, but then evile ff.n decided to be mean and tell us we didn't exist so we deleted our files off our disk for some strange reasons… Grr. Where did we leave off again?… *goes back and reads chapter 5* Ah. That's where. Now what did we write before?… Gah. Stupid ff.n… And just for the note, we've started the sequel to this already, tentatively titled "The Trials of Rebeckah Zion". Hence this story probably will have a few more REALLY long chapters and a cliff-hanger ending. But exams are keeping us busy too, so a bit of a short chapter now to convince you we _haven't_ forgotten all about the story. And then a really long chapter 7, promise!

DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything. Yeesh.

**CHAPTER 6: A Trip To Ancient Egypt**

                [Why would being Egyptian make a difference in how you were treated?] Reva asked stupidly.

                [Why are you denying all this?] Blake asked her point-blank.

                [Because I don't believe them.] Reva responded.

                [Hello?] Kali snapped. [Do you not recall that _I_ was the slave here in the Ancient? I _should_ know how I was treated!]

                [Maybe we should just go back and _show_ you,] Son said irritably.

                [NO!] came the voices of Kali and a new voice.

                [Bakura?] Kali asked. [When did _you_ join our lovely little conversation?]

                [When _you_ decided to make a huge racket in my head.] Bakura answered crisply.

                [Why can't we?] Son demanded. [Reva isn't going to believe any other way.]

                [Because it doesn't work that way.] Loella said in exasperation. [A high-class teenage girl can't just go walking around Phineas Bazaar, you know.]

                [Yeah, because you never know who might be lurking in the shadows.] Kali muttered darkly. [There were plenty of guys looking for more than just your money.]

                [Hey, I never did nothing like that!] Blake, Son and Bakura argued.

                [I never said _you_ were those guys!] Kali snapped. [Blake, you're from a respectable family.]

                [Hey!!!!] Son whined.

                [You don't count, Son.]

                [Hey!!!!]

                [Would you quit taking offense at everything I say, you dim-witted clod?]

                [Who're you calling a dim-witted clod?]

                [You!]

                [Guys, please.] Loella interceded. [Are we going to go back or not?]

                [No!] Kali and Bakura insisted stubbornly.

                [I don't see why we shouldn't,] Reva announced decisively. [I'll get Caryn to—]

                [You will leave the hikaris out of this.] Kali said calmly. [If you absolutely _must go back, the hikaris stay here.]_

                [Kali,] Son began tentatively.

                [What?!]

                [That may not exactly be possible.] Blake agreed. [We're kinda sorta bound.]

                Kali gave a great sigh of exasperation. [Well, thank you oh mighty Blake, for reminding me.]

                [You're welcome.] Blake answered cheerily.

                [You are entirely too cheerful for a yami,] Bakura told him blatantly. (A/N: Eee!!! A variant of a spelling word!)

                [I know,] Blake acknowledged. [It'll be the death of me yet!]

                It was only two short hours later that they, along with Yugi, Yami, Ryou and Bakura, were gathered in Hoshi Park, trying to explain the course of action to the clueless hikaris.

                "So if we didn't exist, why are we going back?" Yugi asked.

                "Because we decided you ought to know some stuff about the Ancient." Kali answered. 'And because we're hoping that you'll find out that arrogant bully's _true nature before it becomes too late for you.' She added silently._

                Nodding at Reva and Caryn, the two closed their eyes and the air around them began to hum and the ground whirl beneath them…

######################################################################################

A/N: see? Told you it was short. Well, must see how many other chapters of ongoing stories we can finish tonight…


	7. Ancient Egypt

 An Empty Shell

L: I'm ba-a-a-ck! After a full weekend of nothing much to do during a four-and-a-half drive to and from the city in a van full of sleeping teens and too-busy-driving-in-snowstorms driver except dream up _this!!! *points to chapter dramatically*_

K: Oh boy. She's hyper. I _knew we shouldn't have made all that sugary Kool-Aid! O_O *whimper* Whaddaya mean, the Millennium Flute is YOUR creation, whoever said that?! *glare*_

L: Translation: "We didn't know you had a Millennium Flute too. Very sorry for any similarities. We weren't stealing it since we didn't know you had one." And you're very welcome, seashell. *hyperactive grin* It was least I could do after you gave such good websites for me to visit.

K: During this chapter, we're probably going to concentrate on Bakura and me—

L: Bakura and _I_.

K: Not you, Laura, you're not in this story. Any way, we'll concentrate on Bakura and me and possibly some Yami and probably some Son or Blake in there somewhere.

L: And regardless of what some people might think, this will not, I repeat, WILL NOT, turn into a Yami/Kali or Bakura/Kali.

K: *shudder* Heaven forbid.

BAKURA: Hey!

K: No offense meant. You're cool, but you're not _that cool._

BAKURA: Hey!

L: There will be some one-sided ??/Kali (where ?? equals MALE yami Silver Bearer, in other words Son or Blake) and possibly hints of ??/Aseliah (you remember, Kali's dead hikari and where ?? equals MALE hikari Silver Bearer, in other words Awan or William).

K: Note the _one-sided_, please. I am _mucho_ too involved with my own pitiful life to share it with some guy who's got it better off.

L: Hey, where'd my _lapicero_ go?

K: That's 'pen'. In Spanish. Laura is _mucho enjoying her Spanish classes. It's probably in your binder, where you left it._

L: In my _carpeta_!!!!! ^-^

K: Oy.

L: My _carpeta_ is on the _mesa_!! No, not the _mesa. The __pupitre. Or is it an _escritorio_? It's probably more of an _escritorio_. Yeah…_

K: God help us.

L: _Buenos noches_ and on with the show!!!

CELINA: BUENOS NACHOS!!!!!!!

K: *laughs weakly* Don't ask. Laura, why are you looking for your pen, any way? YOU'RE AT THE COMPUTER!!!…

DISCLAIMER: Don't own nobody but those mentioned in previous disclaimers.

**Chapter 7: Ancient Egypt **

      Before they landed in the time, Kali said to the hikaris, quite directly and leaving no room for argument, "Into your Items."

      "But… but… but…" William spluttered. Awan joined in the pleading.

      "That'll _hurt!!" Paz whined. Caryn nodded obstinately._

      "Oh, you're all such a bunch of mindless wusses." Bakura muttered. "Why would it hurt?"

      "Actually, it does have a bit of a sharp ache." Ryou told his yami.

      "It'll hurt them a heck of a lot more than it will you." Kali told him and Yugi. "Just don't ask why, it doesn't make any sense."

      Grumbling, the hikaris withdrew into their respective items.

      "Now that _that's done…" Kali said. "Reva, how's this gonna work?"_

      "When we land in Ancient Egypt, we'll be back in our own bodies at that time."

      "Goody." Bakura muttered unenthusiastically. "How delightful."

      "Joy. Happiness. Dance for gladness." Kali added just as unenthusiastically.

      We need to hear some more _encouraging_ going on, Ryou's teasing voice came floating in.

      "Encouragement, my foot." Kali muttered.

      "ANY WAY…" Reva roared. "We'll all at least _try _to be on the northern outskirts of the city in a week."

      A WEEK?! The hikaris all roared in unison. I HAVE TO SPEND _A WEEK IN THIS THING?!_

      "That would be correct." Reva affirmed, patting her Pendant. "Oh come on, it's not _that bad in there, Caryn. I spent 5 millennia in there. A week is nothing."_

      A WHOLE FREAKING WEEK?! Awan screeched at Son. That's it, I don't wanna do this anymore! Send me back! This instant!

      "Too late." Son told him.

      I don't want to be in a lamp for a week! William whined.

      "Hush, you." Blake ordered. "You forget that _I_ control it now! Mwahaha…"

      I'm dead, William moaned.

      "No, you're not." Kali reassured him. "If he kills you, he's dead." Then she stopped and thought about what she said. A weird, awkward silence filled the air. "Any way, trust me, you'll be much safer in there."

      "You'll be able to communicate with any one of us by mind, also." Reva added, before, with a soft THUD, their transporting spirits landed in their past lives.

**_Egyptian guards_**

_Mud…Sand…Water…Straw…Faster!_

_Mud…And lift…Sand…And pull_

_Water…And raise up…Straw…Faster!_

**_Slaves_**

_With the sting of the whip on my shoulder_

_With the salt of my sweat on my brow_

_Elohim, God on high_

_Can you hear your people cry:_

_Help us now_

_This dark hour…[a]_

      Kali and Bakura, with Ryou safely tucked away in a corner of Bakura's mind to silently observe, landed in the middle of the day's work.

      _What a wonderful time to come in, Kali noted grimly as she stumbled and the whip of a nearby guard lashed out to tear at her sunburned back._

      _No kidding, Bakura agreed.__ I definitely wish it was later, or at least earlier, or just not now._

_      That looks painful_, Ryou offered as he saw, through Bakura's eyes, Kali struggle to stand up again, biting back screams of pain.

      _No, Bakura told him sarcastically. __It's the most wonderful__ feeling in the world. In fact, it's so wonderful__, the guards are liberal with it and we're going to get that wonderful_ feeling many times before the day's end.__

_      Shutting up now_, Ryou meekly said.

_Gleaming in the moonlight_

_Cool and clean and all I've ever known_

_All I ever wanted_

_Sweet perfumes of incense_

_Graceful rooms of alabaster stone_

_All I ever wanted[b]_

      Meanwhile, Reva and Loella, with Caryn and Paz observing from a secluded corner of the yamis' minds, came to Ancient Egypt as high-class maidens.

      _Mmmm, I could get used to this, Paz groaned happily as servants gave Loella her manicure and facial and other such beautifying treatments._

      _Don't you already get this treatment every day?, Caryn asked logically._

      _Do I look like I care?, Paz asked. __This is still nice. Don't tell me you're not enjoying it._

_      I am_, Caryn was quick to agree. _I'm not so sure about Reva, though._

"Ouch!" Reva yelled, as the young slave girl doing her manicure accidentally scraped her ring finger with the file. (A/N: note that Loella has _servants and Reva has _slaves_. There _is_ a difference.) "Silly slave, watch what you're doing!"_

      "Yes milady." The girl, looking no older than 12, whispered and was quick to clean the barely visible wound and continued. "Terribly sorry, milady."

      "Make sure it doesn't happen again," Reva ordered sternly.

      "Yes milady."

      _Hey, girlies, how're you doin'?, came a cheerful English voice._

      _Having fun, William? Caryn asked affectionately. _So what has Blake been occupying himself with?__

_      Do you really want to know?_, William groaned. _One thing is for sure: I NEVER want to see another ray of sun again. We have been standing outside ALL day in this stupid bazaar._

_      Poor baby, can't handle a bit of sun?_ Awan's voice floated in the conversation. _At least you're covered by that canopy._

_      How do you know I'm under a canopy?_ William asked, surprised.

      _I'm right across the bazaar. I can see you._

_      Oh, well whaddaya know? There you are. Hi over there!_

_      Oh, boy, _their_ conversation sure was happy, Bakura grumbled as he limped back to the slave district with Kali long after the sun had set on Egypt. '_Hi over there!' 'I can't handle all this sun!' Geez. They should try being a slave for a day. THEN they'll be begging to go back.__

      Ryou had decided it was wisest just to shut up and let Bakura rant. Kali, too, was unusually silent. _Yugi?_ Ryou called privately. _Yugi, are you there?_

_      … that…calling…_

_      Yugi? Why do you sound so far away?_

_      …must…or…_

_      Yugi? _Ryou called worriedly. _Bakura, why can't I hear Yugi?_

_      Probably because Yugi's hidden in the Puzzle, which is currently in Mr. High-and-Mighty's palace, which is guarded by a hundred or so spells, charms, Duel Monsters, and mental-power guards._ Bakura snapped.__

_      You _should_ be able to hear him fine any way, Kali said, frowning. _I don't like where this is going.__

_      I don't know what you guys have been doing all day, but why aren't you talking with us?_ Blake whined at Kali.

      _Because I'm tired, and irritated, and in pain, and trying to figure out how to override Yami's mental blockage.  Kali growled. __Don't bother trying your charming routine on me, Blake. Right now, I can't care less._

_      But Kaaaaaaaaaaaaali,_ Blake started.

_      Blake!_  Son snapped. _Leave her alone._

      Shutting off the mental connection to everyone else, Kali sighed as she turned into a dark building made of mud, really.

      "Kali!!" came the happy shriek of a young girl.

      "Kali, you're home!!" 3-year-old Anais Zona shrieked. "Come play with me! Itari's too busy to play with me and Mama's still at the palace and Cyrus is too little."

      "Rac— Anais, sweetie, I would love to play with you, but Re— Kali's really tired right now, okay?" Kali answered gently. "Is Elijah still sleeping?"

      "Elijah?" Anais asked in confusion.

      "Cyrus," Kali corrected herself quickly. Oh boy, this was getting confusing. Itari and Anais both knew the family only by their given Egyptian 'slave names'. It was only Kali and Mama who knew their true names. Mama forbade their use, claiming that if the Pharaoh found out they weren't 'conforming', that they would all be killed. Anais and Cyrus were both born into slavery, and Itari had been too young when they had been captured to recall freedom. Itari didn't even remember dear Joshua, who had died in the capture. Their father Obayana had died not long before Cyrus' birth. Then it became Kali's responsibility to do the outdoor slavery, to keep Itari from having to work.

      "Kali!" Nova Zona called desperately as she burst into the house. "Good, you're here. We don't have much time. Gather up some blankets and take the girls and Cyrus and get out of here _now_. Use the catacombs of Pharaoh Phineas XI and get to the deserts as quickly as possible. Pharaoh has decreed that all slave families' children under 15 are to be disposed of in the Nile."

      "But Mama," Itari started to protest. "Why can't just me and Anais and Cyrus go? Kali's 17, she doesn't need to escape."

      "Because the catacombs are a labyrinth and because…" Nova paused and glanced at Kali, who had taken some of the blankets, knotted them into a pack of sorts. "The Pharaoh wants to have you return to the palace, Kali."

      "Never!" Kali hissed venomously.

      Just then, Cyrus awoke with a wail and Nova picked up her last son and crooned quietly to him.

_"Yal-di ha-tov veh ha-rach_

_(My good and tender son)_

_Al ti-ra veh al tif-chad_

_(Don't be frightened and don't be scared)_

_My son, I have nothing I can give_

_But this chance that you may live_

_I pray we'll meet again  
If He will deliver us"[c]_

      Kali gently pried the baby from her mother's desperate grasp, wrapped him in a blanket snugly, grabbed a hold of Anais' hand and Itari followed as the four fled and disappeared into the entrance of the catacombs just as guards of the Pharaoh came thundering on their stallions into the slave quarter.

      One guard burst into a house next to Bakura's, where a family of three lived: a grandfather, a widowed father and his 14-year-old son. With a fight, 'Jamal' came kicking and screaming as his father called desperately after them to have mercy.

      Another entered Bakura's house, looked around and snarled "Your age, slave boy?"

      "17," Bakura answered coolly. 

      _You're not 17, Ryou said accusingly._

_      In this time period I am._ Bakura snapped._ We all lost two years or so when we were sealed. Kali! Guards are coming around to get kids!_

_      I KNOW that!_ Kali howled distractedly. _Why do you think I'm running around the catacombs, attempting to find my way out of the city, with my little sisters and brother in tow?_

      The guard finished trashing the house, looking for hiding children and went across to where the Zonas lived. The yells that ensued were enough to shatter glass, if there had been any in the quarter.

      "Worthless, deceitful whore!" the guard yelled as Nova was dragged out by her hair. "You are guilty of high treason to the reign of Pharaoh Yugioh!"

_      Oh, man._ Bakura groaned.

      _What? A whole clamor of voices in Bakura's head demanded._

      _What's going on down there? Son asked._

      _We can hear the screaming from clear down here, Loella added._

      _And I just saw the royal carriage-thing go by, Blake interjected._

      _Come on, what's going on here? Reva demanded._

      A quiet, regal voice said "Kill her and continue on your task. It is only a slave."

      "Yes, Pharaoh."

      A bloodcurdling scream pierced the night's young hour and the severed head of Nova Zona rolled over to stop at Bakura's feet.

      _Oh, yuck. Oh, gross. Oh, ew. Ryou whimpered, sounding as if he was about to puke or cry or both._

_      What happened?_ William asked immediately. _Ryou?_

_      They… they…_

_      They decapitated someone._ Bakura finished for his traumatized hikari._ Her head just landed at our feet._

      _EW! Most of the voices all chorused together._

      _You guys? Kali's tentative voice came, shaken, lost and grieving. _I… don't think I'm going to come back with you guys at the end of this week.__

_      What?!_ Son yelped. _First of all, WHERE ARE YOU, KALI?!_

      _I'm… somewhere. Kali answered vaguely._

      _Kali, you HAVE to come back with us! Blake begged. _We're not leaving without everybody, and it's not safe for you to stay here.__

_      Stop fussing over me, Blake,_ Kali snapped. _It's getting old. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself._

      Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Kali, Itari, Anais and Cyrus emerged from the dank catacombs into the cool breeze of the desert night.

      "I'm tired, Kali." Anais whined.

      "I am too." Itari admitted.

      "We can't stop now," Kali said, looking behind her. "We can't stop until we can no longer see the city or the catacombs or any sign of civilization."

      "That would take you a while," a voice came from behind them.

      Whirling around, Kali was confronted with a guard's sword at her throat and a gloating Yami.

_      … going… Kali?_

_      Yugi, don't try and get out from the Puzzle now._ Kali ordered._ You don't really want to know what's going on._

      "Did you really think you could escape me, slave?" Yami asked imperiously. "Guards, take care of the children."

      "No!" Kali screamed, trying to shield her sisters and brother as guards went after them.

      "What is going on here?!" a surprised voice came.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_A/N: Review! And then there's probably two or three more chapters of this and then… onto "The Trials of Rebeckah Zion"!!_

  


* * *

[a] _Deliver Us_, Prince of Egypt Soundtrack

[b] _All I Ever Wanted_, Prince of Egypt Soundtrack

[c] _Deliver Us_, Prince of Egypt Soundtrack


	8. The End

An Empty Shell

L: *whining* Why is it that a girl writes a fic for once where Yami acts all mean and nasty and people start biting her head off??

K: I mean, come on, people, that angle is probably never going to be attempted (at least by us) again. Neuways, enough whining, Laura, let's finish this irritating story so we can start TTORZ. This is the last chapter. There might be an epilogue, but we don't know yet.

L: We've already started.

K: So that the other _faithful_ readers can read it?

L: Oooooooooooooooh… heh heh heh. ^_^*

YAMI: Yeah, finish the story, so I can go back to being a good guy again!

BAKURA: I know the end of the story. You're not appearing in TTORZ.

YAMI: _What?!_

K: You don't _want the story to end, Yami dearest._

YAMI: *suspiciously* Why not?

L: Because you don't…

ISHIZU_ (As they say in the English version, any way. I keep mixing it up with Shizuku/Shizuka (whichever one it actually is) /Serenity now): I've foreseen it… with the help of my Millennium Necklace…_

SETO: *growls* Ah, shut up.

L: Hey, I just realized I never said how old Itari is! Itari is 12.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any characters created by Kazuki Takahashi.

LEGEND OF VOICES

"spoken"

'thoughts'

_Trapped hikaris Ryou, William, Caryn, Awan and Paz speaking_

**_Yugi speaking_**

**YAMIS (BLAKE, SON, BAKURA, REVA, LOELLA, KALI) SPEAKING**

**Chapter 8: The End**

**(what an original title! 9-9)**

            "What is going on here?" A surprised voice came.

            Yami, Kali and the four guards accompanying Yami whirled around to find Bakura, Son, Blake, Reva and Loella standing there. The dark glare on Bakura looked enough to brutally stab the offending person to death.

            In the stunned silence, Itari and Anais tried to creep away quietly, but Yami didn't let this escape his notice and threw out a barrier, prohibiting any possibility of escape for Kali, Itari and Anais. 

And stopping the others from entering.

"Um, my Pharaoh?" one guard spoke tentatively. Yami turned around, then did something quite un-Yami-like: he blasted all the guards to the Shadow Realm.

"There we go," Yami said calmly. "No interference." He turned back around to face Kali, who was shielding her sisters protectively. Cyrus was peacefully sleeping, amazingly enough, hidden and hopefully forgotten (to Yami), in the folds of Kali's cloak. "Step aside, girl."

"Never," Kali hissed. "You leave them alone."

**KALI, WHAT'S GOING ON?? Son called urgently.**

**_Yeah… going… ?_ Yugi's inquisitive voice came floating through.**

Kali was trapped and her mind was racing, searching for any possible solution to this problem. She knew if she didn't have to worry about Itari, Anais and Cyrus, and Yugi being used as a shield, she could battle with Yami. Her mind already had a plan for Yami's demise, but first she had to isolate him.

**SON, BAKURA. Kali ordered.******

**YES? Bakura and Son answered in unison.**

**I NEED YOU BOTH TO THROW AS MUCH MAGIC AS YOU CAN AT THE BARRIER. LOELLA, REVA, BLAKE?**

**YES? The other three chorused.**

**BE READY.**

**FOR WHAT? Reva asked interestedly.**

**TO MAKE SURE THEY DON'T BLAST MY BROTHER AND SISTERS AND YUGI TO BITS. THROW THE MAGIC _ONLY AT THE BARRIER, SON. THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO, BAKURA. IF EITHER OF YOU KILL ANY OF THEM, I WILL KILL _YOU_._**

*Bakura's POV*

            It was crazy. It was insane. There was no chance of it working. She wouldn't dare…

*Son's POV*

            She did it.

*Loella's POV*

            Before we even registered Kali's comment, there was a flash of violet light. As the light subsided once again, Son and Bakura let their hands fall to their sides as Yugi, Itari and Anais, looking slightly woozy, appeared.

Yugi, rubbing at an amethyst eye, asked "What happened?"

            "Dunno." I said, about to shrug, when I realized my arms were no longer empty. Looking down, I found one of the sweetest little babies you've ever seen, lying in my arms.

            "Cyrus!" Itari cried, dashing over and gently taking the infant out of my arms. Cuddling the baby close, she looked up and an almost caged look appeared in her eyes.

*Blake's POV*

            I didn't blame the kid. The only person even near her height was Yugi, and he was still taller than her. (A/N: never thought you would see the day, huh?)

            Her eyes scanned the group, most likely looking for an ally. The little one –Anais?, hid herself behind her sister's leg.

            _Can I come out now?_ William whined. _It's BORING in here. It sounds exciting out there. What's going on?_

_            I'm not quite sure, myself. _Ryou said. The other hikaris agreed there.

            _I hate sitting in here by myself while everybody else gets to have fun._ Awan grumbled.

**            I WOULDN'T CALL THIS _FUN_, AWAN.** Son growled.** I'D MUCH RATHER BE IN THERE THAN OUT HERE RIGHT NOW.**

*Third Person POV*

            As the hikaris and yamis continued to argue amongst themselves, Yugi was still watching the barrier with a sort of lost and dazed look on his face. He was sitting on the cool sand in the dark of night, but it wasn't until he started to sway dizzily that anybody figured out what was going on with him.

            "That conniving little sneak of a ruler!" Son muttered. "He's still bound to Yugi. He's stealing his energy!"

            Bakura swore in every language he had ever learned while in slavery. **KALI!**

            **I KNOW THAT, BAKURA,** Kali answered tiredly. **DON'T WORRY. I GOT IT COVERED.**

"'Don't worry, I got it covered.' I hate it when she says that." Son muttered. "It usually leads to enormous pain. And stupid crazy stunts that only Kali would try."

            As if to affirm Son's prediction, there was a tug at the yamis' bodies and within the blink of an eye, the trapped hikaris were sprawled on the sand, looking stunned.

            "Hey, what the— Hey, I'm out!" William crowed.

            The glee at being released didn't last long though. Within the next ten seconds, each of them felt enormous pulls at their hearts. The Silver Bearers knew what it was; that was the feeling you got when you and your counterpart were too far separated. This was "the stretch thing", as Blake called it.

            "Oooooooooow…" Paz wailed, hugging herself tightly as if to block the pain.

**            KALI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?????** Son yelled.

**            DON'T WORRY. I GOT IT COVERED. IT SHOULD END SHORTLY.** Kali answered again.

            **_WHAT ARE YOU DOING???!!! _**Blake howled, face white with pain. Ryou and Yugi were shaking; Bakura was biting his lip so hard, a bright spot of red began to trickle down his chin: he had bitten right through his lip.

            A blast of violet light erupted from the barrier and Anais screamed in terror. As suddenly as it had started, the pain ended.

            "W—w—what was that?" Ryou asked shakily.

*Caryn's POV*

            It took me a second to realize why I had trouble balancing as I stood up.

*Paz's POV*

            It was impossible.

*William's POV*

            But she did it.

*Son's POV*

            What an idiot! I don't know who was more stupid: Yami, for provoking Kali, or Kali for doing what she did.

*Blake's POV*

            She took the energy that bound everybody to their counterparts, including Yugi's, and severed the binds. Now we're all separate people. We're no longer bound together. And now Yami can't draw on Yugi's powers.

            I pity the poor fool. He has the receiving end of Kali's wrath.

*Third Person POV*

            While the group outside was in stunned silence, Kali was already at phase 3 of her plan. Gathering all the energy she had severed, which had taken a great deal of her own energy, but who cared?; she literally molded it into a great ball of shining light. Raising it high above her head, she threw it at Yami in desperation.

            Raising a hand carelessly, Yami dissipated the great energy. Then he spoke in a strange ancient language, calling the Dark Magician to his aid.

            'Oh yeah?' Kali thought. 'Well, two can play _this_ game.' She sighed. She had hoped it wouldn't come to this.

            Outside, while the group waited anxiously to find who emerged from the deadly duel, powerful magical beings were stirring within their souls…

            "Does anybody else feel… weird?" Caryn asked uncertainly.

            "Come to think of it, yeah," Yugi agreed distantly.

            Suddenly, a _third pull came from inside. The light surrounding the group was so bright, they were all blinded for a moment, but when sight returned, it was the most amazing thing they'd ever see in the remainder of their lives:_

            _Duel Monsters_ were emerging from within!

*Son's POV*

            "Dude! She didn't!" I yelped. "Kali, you're a crazy girl, you know that, right?"

            "He's surprised," Awan noted. "He actually started a sentence with Dude. Son, you know she can't hear you."

            "I don't care!"

*Third Person POV*

            Kali watched as Duel Monsters came to her side.

            Ai, the Change of Heart. She came from within Ryou.

            Obayana, the Fire Kraken. Bakura.

            Sabrina, the Invader of the Throne. Reva.

            Aurelia, the Dark Witch. Caryn.

            Azura, the Red Archery Girl. Loella.

            Angelo, the Banisher of the Light. Paz.

            Vachel, the Ancient One of the Deep Forest. Awan.

            Uriel, the Shining Angel. Son.

            Kane, the Ryu-Ran. William.

            Blanche, the Hyozanryu. Blake.

            And Yugi's spirit within: Cain, the Dark Magician. He was the gamble: would this Dark Magician still be faithful to Yami, or to her?

            "Dark Magician, you defend the wrong human," Yami said simply. "Come join Pharaoh."

            Cain hesitated. His personal alliances were with the one who called him. His kind's alliances were with the Pharaoh. One of his own had already come to the Pharaoh's aid. If he stayed with this girl, chances were if he didn't die in combat, he would die a dishonourable death. If he joined Pharaoh, he would hate himself forevermore… IF he didn't die in combat.

            Why, oh why, couldn't he just die in combat?

            "Cain… I'll understand if you choose to side with your kind on this battle," Kali said softly.

            That decided it for Cain. Remaining where he was, he ignored the disgusted and disbelieving look his kin was giving him.

            Yami sighed and shook his head.

            Outside, the group awaited anxiously to see who would be the only one coming out from this deadly duel…

            Suddenly, the sky lit up with the amazing light of a little-acknowledged being…

            "Yeshua…" Bakura whispered, eyes wide. "No way…"

            "Ohhh, yes way," Son muttered. "This is not good."

            Yeshua disappeared into the barrier, and a mere five seconds later, the fate was decided.

            Nobody came out. The space where the barrier once stood was empty. The only thing left of either Yami, or Kali's, existence was a metal chain link, and a silver locket.

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A/N: And thus ends An Empty Shell. Stay tuned, for the first chapter of TTORZ (The Trials of Rebeckah Zion) will be up soon!


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